Echos from the past
by Reflective-Rain
Summary: No matter how fast you run, the past will always catch up with you in the end. Follows the life of Kaya, a girl who was once on Kakashi's team.WARNING: This fic contains an OC. Don't like OC's? Then don't read!
1. Chapter 1

Echoes from the past

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Kakashi would not wear a mask, Naruto would not be the main character, Sasuke would be overly hyper and happy and Haku and Zabuza would still be alive. Also, I wouldn't waste my spare time writing fanfic.

**If you've read the Kakashi Gaiden part of the Naruto manga, then you'll recognize the first segment of this story as being from there. Also there's a large part that revolves around team seven's time in the land of the waves. Obviously both parts are edited and changed since I've added a character. Also, this is my first fan fic, so please be nice.**

**Chapter 1**

Slowly the young girl rolled over on her bed to glance at the small electronic clock that stood on the bedside table beside it. It flashed 6am. The alarm wasn't set to go off for another half hour. With a sigh she gently pushed herself off the bed. She'd been trying to get back to sleep for at least an hour, with no success. Oh well, she might as well get up now.

She walked quietly into the bathroom so as not to wake her brother, who she knew was still asleep. After all, it was his snoring that had prevented her from going back to sleep. She had her morning shower and then walked back into her room, continuing to be quiet. Her brother needed his sleep; they had a big mission today. She dressed slowly, taking her time. She put on a dark purple T-shirt and black denim short shorts. She brushed her raven black hair and then pulled it into a ponytail. As an after thought she added a slight hint of make-up around her slate gray eyes.

Suddenly a shrill sound sliced through the silence of the sleeping house. The girl jumped in shock and quickly went to her bedside table and turned off her alarm. In the room across the hall she could hear her brother's alarm going off. Then all was silent again as he turned it off. She could hear him as he jumped out of bed and opened his closet to get dressed. The girl raised her eyebrows. Generally it took her brother at least half an hour to wake up. It looked like they might actually be on time for once. She smiled slightly and went into the kitchen.

The young girl poured herself a bowl of cereal and then another one for her brother. She knew he'd be out in a minute. Then she sat at the little aluminum card table that served as their dinning table and began to eat. After a few minutes her brother came into the kitchen and grabbed his bowl of cereal off the counter. He sat across the table from the young girl and began to eat.

"Wow Obito, you're awake on time for once! That's amazing." She remarked with a smirk as she finished the last of her breakfast.

"Shut up Kaya. Just cause you got moved to my team doesn't mean you can get on my case about being late all the time." He answered with a glare.

"Chill Obi, I'm just teasing you." The girl, Uchiha Kaya, told her brother with a roll of her eyes. "Anyway, hurry up, we need to go." She told her brother and walked into the front hall, to the front door. She grabbed her shoes from in front of the door. They were a pair of lace-up black boots that went all the way up to her knees. They didn't have any heel to them, just a flat sole. Have you ever tried fighting in high-heeled boots? Yeah, it's not easy. About ten minutes later Obito came into the hall and she opened the door, waiting for her brother to go outside before her. He did and she followed him, locking the door behind them. Then they ran all the way to the meeting place.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 

Kaya and Obito arrived only a couple minutes late. The rest of their team was already assembled and waiting. Kaya sighed; her and Obito were almost always late. She looked up at her sensei, a man they called Konoha's yellow flash. Although she didn't know it then, he was the man who would one day be called the fourth Hokage. He smiled kindly at her and she looked at her feet. It would have been nice to be on time for once, especially today. Today one of her teammates was to become a jounin. His name was Hatake Kakashi. She glanced to him. He stood beside her sensei and her other teammate Rin stood on her sensei's other side. Kaya bowed her head to Kakashi.

"Congratulations." She said with a smile. Kakashi simply looked at her and nodded. She knew he didn't like her. She was younger then him, and she'd become a jounin sooner. That alone was reason enough for him to hate her. Her sensei and Rin were giving Kakashi graduation gifts. Her sensei gave him a special Kunai knife and Rin gave him a medical kit. Kaya passed him a dog tag type necklace engraved with his name. Kakashi turned to Obito, but Obito didn't hand him anything.

"I didn't get you anything." Obito told Kakashi. This was the beginning of yet another of the boys daily arguments. Kaya rolled her eyes at Rin who grinned. It was going to be a long day. Once the boys had finally settled down, their sensei spoke up.

"Right, since Kakashi's now a jounin, he's going to be the leader of your team from now on. Today's mission is very important. You're all aware of the war with the earth country. What you need to is sneak behind the enemy and destroy the bridge that brings them their supplies. Once you've done that, retreat quickly. I'll go part way with you, but then I'm going to the front line to draw attention away from you. You'll be on your own." The team nodded, but Obito was glaring daggers at the sensei.

"Why's Kakashi the leader? Kaya's been a jounin longer then him. She's less selfish too. She'd make a better leader. Why make _him _leader instead?" Obito demanded angrily. Kaya looked down at the ground in embarrassment. She'd been wondering why too, but she'd hoped Obito would have the sense not to bring it up. Their sensei sighed.

"Because Kakashi's older, Obito. And I'm worried about how Kaya'd cope as leader of a team." He answered. _And I figured there'd be less chance of you all having a fight this way, Kakashi should be able to keep you all in line. For this mission we need someone who'll follow they're head and not their heart._ He added silently to himself. It was true. Kaya didn't like it when team members fought and tended to just have a break down.

"But it's not fair Sensei, Ka-" Obito started to protest but Kaya cut him short.

"Drop it Obito, I don't want to be a leader anyway." Kaya said in a voice that made it obvious that was to be the end of the discussion. She understood why she hadn't been made a leader. She'd done a pretty crappy job so far as a jounin.

After being promoted her old team had not been all that happy to have an eleven year old become the only jounin on their team. She hadn't really wanted to become a jounin so young either. She was ahead of all her friends, and they'd all become distant to her, as most were still genins. It was because she'd been born with an excess amount of chakra. She had so much, that she could perform very complicated jutsus and heal others and herself with her chakra. It was this that led to her becoming a jounin.

The others on her team had never really liked her, they were 15 and 17 and they were both still chunins. After a mission, when Kaya was tired, they'd jumped her. They were older and bigger then her, and she had gotten a pretty nasty cut on her arm. Fortunately, she hadn't been far from home. Obito had been walking with Rin on his way home and had seen what was going on. With their help Kaya was able to get the two older shinobi off her. But it was decided that it was in Kaya's best interest to be moved to another team, which was why she on her brother's team. It had been decided he'd be able to 'protect' her from the older team members, even though Kaya was of a higher rank then he was.

It wasn't too bad though. Her and Obito generally got along really well and Rin was one of her best friends. The only problem was Kakashi. He was a self-centered jerk, who didn't care about his teammates, only about the mission at hand. He really pissed her off sometimes. Not that she's ever let it show. She wasn't the kind of person to go around picking fights anyway. It just wasn't who she was. Their Sensei cleared his throat.

"Well, if we're all done fighting, shall we get started?" He asked his team. Kakashi and Obito were glaring silently at each other, Rin was watching them carefully and Kaya was staring at the ground. But when their sensei spoke they all looked up at him.

"Yes, Sensei." They all said in unison. Their Sensei nodded and began to walk towards the forest. The four teammates followed him silently, the boys glaring at each other again.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 

After lots of walking in a forest that appears to be full of tall trees and giant mushrooms…

Kaya was walking behind everyone else, barely paying attention when Kakashi gave the signal to stop. She almost walked right into Rin, who was in front of her. Apparently Kakashi had heard and/or seen something. She sighed inwardly. She'd missed it, since she hadn't been paying attention. Everyone stopped and waited for Kakashi to do something. Kakashi knelt down and put a finger on the ground. Kaya knew what he was doing. He was checking to see how many enemies there were.

"There seems to be 20 enemies, it's probably a kage bunshin. I'll head in. Please cover me sensei." Kakashi spoke up at last.

"Don't be hasty Kakashi. Don't you think you should be the backup?" Sensei asked.

"I'm commander today sensei. Anyway, it would be an good time for me to try out my new jutsu." Kakashi preformed a sequence of hand seals Kaya had not seen before. "Chidori!" Kakashi cried as his hand became covered by a blue glow. He was gathering chakra in the palm of his hand. Kaya raised an eyebrow. It was pretty impressive that he'd made this jutsu up on his own. Wordlessly their sensei stretched an arm out in front of Kakashi to stop him. "Don't worry sensei, no matter how many there are, this jutsu can do it in a flash. Anyway, I'm the commander now." After a moment of silence, their sensei removed his arm and Kakashi took off.

Several kunai were tossed his way, all of them harmlessly knocked out of the way by their sensei and Kaya's kunai. Kakashi continued to rush straight at their enemies. There was only one, the rest were kage bunshins, which meant he was continuously hitting decoys and destroying them. One such clone approached Obito. Kaya watched her brother freeze up as he starred in terror at the enemy.

"Obito!" She yelled, throwing a kunai into the shadow clone's head. It promptly disappeared upon contact. "Be careful!" She yelled to her brother.

"S-sorry." He stammered. Meanwhile Kakashi was rushing at target number eighteen. He was moving too fast to notice the sword target eighteen pulled out, and was bout to get hacked to bits when their sensei, proving how he'd earn his nickname, appeared in front of him and quickly snatched him away, saving him from a bloody and very messy death. However, he wasn't quiet fast enough to stop Kakashi from getting his armpit slashed. In the blink of an eye, their sensei was back with the other three shinobi, carrying Kakashi. He set Kakashi down on the grass and in the blink of an eye was gone again. In a moment, their enemy was dead, and their sensei was back by their side. Rin was in the process of healing Kakashi, being a medical nin. Obito and Kaya were just standing there silently, not really having anything useful to do.

"That injury isn't minor Kakashi, we'll retreat back to camp." Sensei ordered.

"I'm fine!" Kakashi protested.

"Fine? You went against sensei's orders, you acted selfishly and you almost got killed!" Obito yelled.

"I don't want to talk to you, Uchiha crybaby!" Kakashi retorted.

"Don't talk about my brother like that!" Kaya yelled, something that was out of character for her. She was pissed off, fed up with Kakashi. But he ignored her.

"Remember shinobi rule twenty five Obito? A shinobi must never show his tears!"

"I wasn't crying, there was something in my eye!"

"Quit it you two!" Kaya and Rin yelled at the same time.

"Everyone take it easy." Sensei said at last. "Kakashi, rules are important, but you also need to adapt to cope with the situation. And Obito, you were wearing your goggles, there was nothing in your eye. You need to control your mouth, or your mouth and your mind will become weak. One more thing, Kakashi, never use that jutsu again. You move too fast to see your opponents counter. It is an incomplete jutsu. Remember, the most important thing to a shinobi is teamwork! Alright move out." A moment of ashamed silence followed this speech, as the four shinobi hung their heads in shame. They followed their sensei out of the woods, back to base.

Later that night, Kaya followed Obito silently as he left the group. She overheard a conversation between her sensei and him. He told sensei about how bad Kakashi made him feel, how he made him feel like a loser. She listened as her sensei explained the story behind Kakashi's past. Kakashi's father had once been a respected shinobi, known as the 'White Fang', until he chose to save his teammates lives instead of the success of his mission. He caused the village a great loss, and was blamed by everyone, even those he had saved. He eventually took his own life. That was when Kakashi stopped talking about his father and insisted on only following the rules. Kaya listened as sensei urged Obito to understand Kakashi, just a little. She felt bad for him, but she didn't see why he should act like such a jerk…


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 

The next morning Kakashi's wounds had healed almost completely. Rin warned him not to overdo it though, or they'd open up again. Then the team set out. After lots of walking in the forest sensei told them it was time for them to split up. Kakashi would lead Kaya, Obito and Rin one way, and their sensei was to go another way. He warned them to be careful. And then the two teams ran off in their separate directions.

Much walking later they came to a large pond. Gathering her chakra in her feet, Kaya followed after the others. Part way across the pond, Kakashi signaled for them to stop. Kaya had been paying attention this time, and she'd noticed it too. She moved a little closer to her brother as they stopped. Obito made a series of hand sings and then used Goukakyuu no jutsu (Fireball jutsu). If anyone had been standing in front of them, they were incinerated now. A log splashed into the water. Damn, a substitution jutsu. Suddenly a ninja jumped up, almost from nowhere. Kakashi threw some kunai, but the guy dodged them too easily. Almost as though he wasn't even there to fight them. Like he was a distraction or something… Suddenly Rin screamed. The three other teammates whirled around to look at her.

A second ninja was holding her under his arm. The first ninja landed behind him. Rin appeared to be unconscious.

"We'll look after this one." The second ninja told them.

"Wait!" Kakashi cried, but the two ninjas simply disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Rin!" Kaya yelled to the empty air where Rin had been.

"Dammit!" Obito cried and went to go after the ninjas. Kaya made a move to follow but Kakashi stopped them.

"Stop, don't go after them!" Kakashi ordered. Obito and Kaya looked at him in disbelief.

"What?" Obito demanded. "Don't you get it? How could you say that?"

"The three of us will finish the mission." Kakashi answered calmly. Kaya's eyes widened in disbelief and Obito glared hard at him.

"And Rin?" He asked coldly.

"We leave her for now. It's more important that the enemy doesn't find out our goal and go to the bridge to prepare for an attack. Anyway, Rin's a medical ninja and should be treated well as long as she looks after their casualties." Kakashi answered.

"That has nothing to do with Rin's safety." Obito pointed out. "What if these guys are just unthinking flunkies? What then? Rin's life is more important than the mission!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 

"Sometimes, it's necessary to sacrifice a teammates life for the completion of a mission, that's a law. If we don't complete the mission, this war will continue and more people will die, not just Rin." Kakashi answered Obito, still irritatingly calm. He turned to Kaya. "Kaya, you're a jounin, surely you see my point. The mission comes first." Kaya didn't answer. Her hands were balled into fists and shaking as she glared silently at Kakashi.

"So we just throw away out teammates life? The girl who's been with us through everything, who's healed us when we were injured? We'd be dead if it weren't for Rin!" Obito yelled.

"That was Rin's duty." Kakashi replied simply. Before Obito was finished thinking about hitting Kakashi, Kaya already had. Demonstrating why she'd become a jounin so young, she moved with amazing speed and hit Kakashi hard in the jaw, knocking him back. Both of the older boys starred at her in shock. That was not at all in character for Kaya. She usually stayed out of team fights and cried or panicked.

"I cannot stand you." She told Kakashi through gritted teeth. She stood over him, hands still in fists, ready to hit him again.

"Whether you like me or not, you have to listen to me. I'm commander. No matter what happens, that won't change. Obito has no strength and you're a coward who's too young. You have to listen to me." Kakashi told her.

"If you're so strong, so much better then us, then save Rin!" Obito yelled. He'd come to stand beside Kaya. Kakashi narrowed his eyes at Obito.

"If you let your emotions run free and fail your mission, you'll regret it in the future. Because of that the rule was decided that a shinobi must kill his emotions. You need to understand that too." Kakashi told Obito.

"Rin gave you a medical pack out of concern for you. But didn't I say the other day, "If you receive unnecessary things they just become excess luggage"?" Obito asked.

"The most important thing for a shinobi is to be a tool in order to complete the mission. Emotions are unnecessary things." Kakashi replied. Obito and Kaya just starred at him.

"Do you… do you seriously think like?" Kaya asked in shock. Kakashi thought for a moment.

"Yes." He replied quietly. Kaya just turned away from him and Obito followed her.

"Fine, we're going to rescue Rin." Kaya said coldly.

"You don't understand what happens to those who don't follow the rules, they-" Kakashi started, but Kaya cut him off.

"I believe the 'White Fang' was a true hero…" She said softly as her and Obito walked away.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 

As Kakashi continued through the forest, jumping from tree to tree his armpit began to throb with pain again. He remembered Rin, as she told him not to overdo it. He felt bad. Was he really going to just leave her behind? She'd looked after him, been worried about him when he'd been injured. Saved his life even. He thought about Obito and Kaya's words. His arm throbbed with pain again. He didn't know what to do…

Meanwhile…

Kaya and Obito had found the ninjas. They perched in a tree and observed. The rock ninjas were using some kind of genjutsu on her, to get information from her quickly.

"Right, let's go." Obito whispered to Kaya.

"Where to?" A voice behind them said. It was the voice of the second rock ninja. Kaya and Obito both spun around. Suddenly Kakashi was there. He had a kunai and slashed the strange ninja down the chest before either Kaya or Obito had time to react. They both starred at Kakashi in amazment.

"Kakashi… why… what are you doing here?" Kaya asked.

"I can't leave it all to a crybaby and a little kid." Kakashi replied. The rock ninja got up and faced them with a smirk.

"So you're the White Fang's brat, eh? Guess there's no need to worry then." He said, before using a camouflage jutsu to disappear completely right in front of them. The three ninja looked at each other.

"His scent's gone from the air." Kaya remarked, glancing to Kakashi.

"Track him through movements in air and sound currents then." Kakashi told her. The three ninja were very still for a moment. Kaya and Kakashi suddenly both looked up at each other at the same time, as if to confirm they'd both sensed the same thing. They turned to Obito. "Behind you Obito!" Kakashi yelled, rushing forward.

A large gash suddenly appeared over Kakashi's left eye, with no apparent cause. He fell backwards with a cry of pain.

"Kakashi!" Both Obito and Kaya yelled at the same time. They rushed to kneel beside him. Kakashi was holding his hand over his eye.

"The enemy, he's skilled. He got rid of the kunai with the scent of my blood on it on it already." He informed them. A few tears slipped from the corners of Obito's eyes. "Dirt in your eyes? Shinobi don't cry, I'm not dead yet." Kakashi told him. "Don't let your guard down."

There was a sound behind them and both Obito and Kaya turned around. And they opened their eyes, both unlocking the sharingan at the same time through their will to protect their teammate.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 

Now they could see their enemy and together Kaya and Obito stabbed with their kunai.

"What? Those eyes…" The rock ninja said before falling to the ground. Kaya and Obito turned back to Kakashi.

"You guys… your eyes… the sharingan…" He stuttered in disbelief. The brother and sister looked at each. It seemed like the sharingan all right. Suddenly Kakashi let out a small cry of pain as he tried to open his eye.

"Kakashi, are you alright?" Obito asked.

"Yeah, but it seems like my left eye's completely useless now. I have the medical kit Rin gave me. If we use it, we should be able to do this quickly and save Rin right away." Kakashi answered. Obito and Kaya nodded.

Once Kakashi was properly bandaged, the three approached the remaining ninja directly from behind. He turned around and rolled his eyes.

"Everyone's useless…" He said with a frustrated sigh as the sight of the three young ninja. Obito looked at Rin and then Kakashi and Kaya.

"Rin's chakra flow is weird, different from ours. She must be under some sort of genjutsu to get information out of her more quickly. See it Kaya?" Obito asked his sister. Kaya nodded. The last rock ninja smirked.

"Looks like you're no ordinary kids." He said.

"We've dealt with one, but this guys got high speed. Be careful." Kaya warned the two boys. And with that the fight began. Through their suddenly developed team work Kakashi, Obito and Kaya were able to take care of the rock ninja. Once he was dealt with, they went to Rin, who'd been tied up. Kaya knelt down and undid the genjutsu on her. She came to and grinned at her three teammates.

"We're here to rescue you Rin." Kaya said with a grin. "But come on, we need to get out of here quickly."

"You may have done well, but you're still brats. And you've just played right into my hands." A voice behind them said. Everyone turned to look at the speaker, the rock ninja they'd supposedly just finished dealing with. He preformed a couple hand signs and then a jutsu. The rock cliff behind them began to crumble.

"Quick, run!" Kakashi yelled. The four ninja took off running as a huge wall of falling rock followed behind them.

"Oh crap!" Kaya yelled. A small chunk of rock hit Kakashi hard in his left eye's blind spot, knocking him out.

"Kakashi!" Rin yelled. Her and Kaya stopped running and looked back. Obito ran back. He threw Kakashi out of the way just as a huge rock was about to crush him. Then the whole wall of rock fell on the group…


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 

When Kaya woke up she was lying in a dark area. Concentrating her chakra so she'd be able to see she noticed she was completely surrounded by rock. Beside her Rin was just waking up and beside Rin, Kakashi was waking up as well. Where was Obito?

"Are… you guys… OK?" Asked Obito's voice. He sounded weak. Kaya looked around and then saw him. She gasped in horror and began to cry. Only half of Obito's body was visible. The other half was trapped beneath a huge boulder.

"Obito!" Kakashi yelled. He ran over, trying to lift the boulder off Obito. Rin just stared in horror. Kaya ran to Kakashi's side and tried to help left the boulder, but it wouldn't budge. "Shit!" Kakashi swore. He heaved again, but still the boulder wouldn't move.

"That's enough guys… it's okay. The right side of my body's smashed, I don't have any feeling in it. I guess it's over for me…" Obito told them calmly. Kaya sank to the floor, tears streaming down her cheeks. It was all she could do not to sob.

"No… why…" Rin muttered. Obito coughed, and due to his injuries, he coughed up blood. Kakashi slammed his fists against the ground in despair.

"This wouldn't have happened if I'd just gone along with what you'd said from the beginning. If I'd listened to you… What kind of a commander…? What kind of Jounin…?" Kakashi's voice was filled with self-disgust as he spoke.

"Hey… forget it." Obito told him weakly. "I'm the only one… who didn't give you… a present… right? Well… I was thinking… of what would be good… and I've come up with something. Don't worry… it won't just be… useless baggage… It's this… sharingan of mine." Everyone looked at Obito in shock. "Everyone in the village… must've been saying… that you're a great jounin… that's how I feel too. Please accept it." Obito looked at his sister and Rin who was beside her. "Rin… Kaya… with your medical jutsu…please implant my sharingan… into Kakashi's left eye. I'm already going to die… but I can become your eye Kakashi… and I'll see the future…"

"Come over here Kakashi, so we can start quickly." Rin instructed, wiping the tears from her face. Kaya made no move to help.

"Kaya… please…" Obito told her. "Just do it… it'll be okay…"

"Obito…"

"Please Kaya…" Kaya looked down for a moment and then brushed her tears from her face. Rin was watching her, waiting for her to help. Kaya took a deep breath and looked up.

"Okay, let's get started…"


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 

_BOOM!_

The rock ninja turned to the large hill of fallen rocks behind him. Apparently one of the brats had broken free. It was the silver haired boy in the mask and he appeared to be crying. One of his eyes, his left, had a gash down it, starting just above his eyebrow to just below the top of his mask.

"You're stubborn to still be alive. But you're just a brat, shinobi don't cry. Come on crybaby, I'll break you apart!" The rock ninja yelled. He watched the boy open his eyes. His right one was black, but his left eye was red, with a black ring around the pupil. He looked different from before…

Kakashi looked down the hole he'd just made in the rock at Obito, Kaya and Rin below.

"Look after… Kaya and Rin…" Obito told him. Kakashi nodded. And then he took off after the bad guy. Kaya knelt by her brother, holding his hand. She was crying again. After a few minutes Kakashi appeared at the mouth of the hole again, looking down at them. "Kakashi… take my sister and Rin… get them out of here… the enemies reinforcements… will be coming for sure…" Kakashi extended a hand into the hole and Rin took his hand. He pulled her out. Then he offered his hand to Kaya. She looked at him and then to Obito.

"Obito…" She said quietly. She squeezed his hand, but he pulled it out of her grasp.

"It's okay… go…" He told her weakly. She was quiet as she looked at her brother, but still didn't move.

"Kaya!" Kakashi called, reaching further for her. She saw him look over his shoulder, saw his eyes widen in shock and felt the earth shake. "Kaya, hurry and take my hand!" Kakashi yelled urgently. Kaya looked up at him, but then back to Obito.

"Go Kaya!" Obito told her. She looked back to Kakashi and slowly took his hand. He pulled her out of the hole as the rocks around it caved in from the earthquake. She took one last look at her dying brother's face as the rocks caved in and buried him.

"Obito!" She screamed as Kakashi hauled her up onto the thick branch of one of the huge trees beside Rin. Rin hugged Kaya, who sobbed into her friend's shoulder. "Obito…" She muttered through her tears.

Kakashi looked around them. They were surrounded on all sides by ninja from the rock village. They were the ones who'd made the earthquake that had sealed Obito in the rocks below. Kakashi preformed a series of hand signals and his hand became surrounded by the blue glow of his chakra. He was using his jutsu, the chidori. Obito had completed it, in giving him the sharingan. Now he'd be able to see any counters made by his opponent, no matter how fast he was going.

"Wow, even in this situation, you're still showing the will to fight. Just to be sneaking around in enemy territory, you've got a strong will." One of the rock ninjas remarked. Kakashi narrowed his eyes.

"Rin… Kaya… I'll handle these guys; you escape. I'll look after you for Obito. Because of that I'll protect you even if I have to die. You were both important to him, because of that I'll protect you through life and death." The enemy ninja's were closing in on them. "Go!" Kakashi yelled to the two girls. The ninjas closed in and Kakashi blacked out…


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 

When Kakashi came to, he was lying on the giant rock that had been their base camp. Beside him sat his sensei.

"Looks like you're awake." His sensei commented.

"Sensei? What?" Kakashi asked, confused. How had he gotten here? His sensei held out the kunai he'd given Kakashi earlier.

"The mark on this kunai is a jutsu type. It alerts me when it flies." His Sensei answered.

"So the enemies?"

"I defeated all of them."

"What about Rin and Kaya? What happened to them?" Kakashi asked suddenly. His sensei pointed to a figure a few feet away, gazing up at the stars.

"I'm sorry I wasn't in time Kakashi. I heard it all from Rin." He answered.

"And Kaya, where's she?" Kakashi asked. His sensei was silent for a moment. And then he pointed to the side. Kaya was sitting against a tree, arms around her knees, hugging them to her chest.

"She hasn't spoken to anyone yet. We can't get her to say anything. She just stares blankly into space. She's in shock but it should pass. Rin says she saved your life after you got knocked out. She held off the rock ninjas until I got there." Kakashi watched Kaya. She was usually a happy girl, with lots of energy. It was strange to see her just sitting there, not doing anything. She might never be the same again…

It wasn't until a week after Obito's ceremony that Kaya started to talk to people again. But she was different now. She wasn't energetic, she wasn't happy. She seemed to just float through life like a ghost most of the time. Rin and Kakashi stuck by her, trying to comfort her, and it helped. But she was still different.

Two weeks after Obito's ceremony and two and a half weeks after his death she seemed to be learning how to laugh and smile again. She still spent a lot of time with Rin and Kakashi and her parents were still away fighting the war. She was getting better.

Four weeks after Obito's death, Kakashi was on his way to Kaya's house. Normally Rin would have come with him, but she was on a mission. There was a letter on Kaya's doorstep and he picked it up to give to her. Then he knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Kaya's voice called from inside. Kakashi opened the door and entered the house.

It seemed bigger since Kaya was the only on there at the time. He missed Obito and was sad for a moment, until Kaya came in. As soon as he saw her he smiled. He couldn't be sad when Kaya was doing so well, when she was finally getting better.

"Hey Kakashi." Kaya said with a little smile.

"Hey Kaya. You got a letter." He told her and handed her the envelope. She sat down at the table and opened it. Kakashi left her to her letter and went into the kitchen to make some tea. He opened the cupboard. "Want some tea Kaya?" He called. There was no answer. "Kaya?" He called; still no answer. With a frown, Kakashi went back into the living room. "Kaya?" He asked as he came into the room.

Kaya was sitting at the table her face pale as chalk. In her hands she held the open letter. Kakashi went over and looked over her shoulder at the letter. His eyes widened in horror. This wasn't fair, not for Kaya, she'd been through enough already. As if it wasn't bad enough to have lost her brother, now she'd lost her parents. That was what the letter told her, in neat, official printing. It told her that her parents had been killed in action, while fighting the war. Kakashi gently put a hand on Kaya's shoulder to comfort her.

"Kaya-" He started, but she jerked violently away from his hand, leaping out of chair and spinning around to face him.

"This is all your fault!" She screamed at him.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 

"Kaya, what-" Kakashi began in confusion, but Kaya cut him off again.

"Obito would still be alive if it wasn't for you!" Kaya yelled at him, eyes welling up with tears.

"Kaya, I didn't mean for what happened to happen." Kakashi told her quietly. But he knew she was right. It was something that had been slowly eating away at him for a while now. Obito was dead because of Kakashi; there was no way around it. Obito had died to save him. "You know I didn't. I couldn't save him, I couldn't-"

"Shut up! You don't even care! You hated Obito; you fought with him about everything! You did your best to make him feel stupid and useless! And now he's dead because of you!" She screamed at him, tears spilling from her eyes and sliding down her cheeks.

"Kaya-" Kakashi tried, but she wouldn't let him speak.

"Out! Get out of my house!" She yelled, pointing towards the door. Kakashi didn't move. "Get out!" Kaya screamed again. Slowly Kakashi moved to the door and left, head down. He'd been waiting for this. It was only a matter of time until someone brought it up, and of course it would be Kaya. He guessed that it was because her parents were dead now too. She didn't have any one left except Kakashi and Rin, and it looked like she wasn't going to let them near her anymore.

Kakashi woke up with a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach the next day. Kaya's words had really hit home. Her words echoed over and over again in his head. It was torturing him. Obito, the boy he'd always been so mean to, was dead. And he was dead because he'd saved Kakashi's life. Even if the two of them had become friends in the very end, it still wasn't right.

After spending most of the day home alone, starring pointlessly out of the window, he decided to go visit Rin. He knew she'd been planning to go see Kaya earlier, but it was well past nine o'clock in the evening, and she'd be back by now for sure. It wasn't like Kakashi had anything better to do anyway. The village was awfully quiet now, with many away fighting the war and many more dead from doing just that. Putting on his shoes, Kakashi left his house to find Rin.

It wasn't until a little after ten that Kakashi reached Rin's house. Half-way through his walk it had started raining. Now it was pouring. He knocked on her door and waited. After only a few seconds it was flung open.

"Kaya?" Rin asked hopefully as she opened her front door. But instead of Kaya she found Kakashi standing on her doorstep. "Kakashi? Have you seen Kaya?" Rin asked him urgently. He shook his head. "I haven't seen her all day, and she wasn't at home when I went to her house. What happened yesterday?" Kakashi quickly told Rin about the letter Kaya had received. Rin paled. "Kakashi, we have to find her." She told him simply. He nodded, if Kaya had been gone all day that was bad. Who knew what she was doing? Kakashi had an idea…

Ten minutes later Kakashi reached the gate to Konoha, running as fast as he could. A small-clocked figure was making its way towards the gate slowly. Kakashi knew it was Kaya right away. He ran up to her and grabbed her wrist, spinning her around to face him. Kaya glared coldly at him and pulled her wrist out of his grasp.

"Don't touch me." She hissed at him. She was absolutely soaked, but Kakashi figured he wasn't any drier.

"Kaya, it's raining, go home before you get sick." He told her, trying to sound gentile.

"Like you would care if I did get sick. You never gave a hoot about me until Obito died. I've been wondering this whole time why you suddenly cared. Is it guilt Kakashi? Or maybe it's pity? Or a bit of both perhaps?" Kaya's voice was cold and her expression showed nothing but hatred. Kakashi stared at her in shock, unsure how to reply. He couldn't see a trace of sadness on her face, not even a single tear. Did she hate him so much that it overtook everything else? Kakashi didn't get it; Kaya wasn't like this. He'd never seen her try to hurt someone, whether it was verbally or physically. He'd rarely even heard her ever make an insulting comment. He didn't know she was capable of it.

"Kaya, I didn't mean for Obito to die. You know I didn't. You know I'd give anything to be able to go back and change what happened. I wish I was the one who died, and that Obito was here right now. But it didn't turn out that way. Kaya, please you've got to believe me." Kakashi voice was pleading and his eyes were beginning to water. He didn't know what else to say to her. In a way, she was right, it was partly his fault and he knew it.

"You're a liar." Kaya told him and then her cold disguise crumbled and her eyes filled with tears as she looked at Kakashi. "You hated Obito! You always hated him! You did your best to make him feel like an idiot, like a loser! You and your goddamn superiority! He'd come home crying some days because of you and you want me to believe that you wished he was here and you weren't? That you feel sorry that he died? You didn't give a damn then and you don't give a damn now so stop pretending!" Kaya yelled her voice cracking with emotion. And then she broke down into sobs.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 

Kakashi moved forwards and put a hand on Kaya's shoulder. She swatted his hand away and proceeded to punch him in the chest. But it was more out of anguish then out of intent to cause Kakashi any harm, and she didn't even hit him hard enough to bruise. Eventually she just collapsed and allowed Kakashi to hug her as she sobbed into his shoulder.

"He was my brother Kakashi, my only sibling. My parents were almost never home before they just went off to fight in the war. He tried so hard to make life easier for me then it been for him. And I know it was hard for him. He could have been a great ninja Kakashi, he had the potential, but he didn't have the time. I passed the ninja academy when I was six, and whenever I got home from a mission Obito was always waiting for me. And you know, I never heard him complain once. Not even when I became a chunin before him. He was always there when I needed him, no matter what. Even though I was supposedly more skilled, had more chakra, was a faster learner and all that, he still wanted to protect me, wanted to act like a stronger big brother." Kaya had to stop talking for a moment while she cried. Kakashi just hugged her. He'd never had to deal with a sobbing eleven-year old girl before, and he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. He figured she just needed to get it all out. Kaya took a deep breath and continued talking.

"That day, when those guys on my team jumped me, I was terrified. They were both older and bigger then me. I just froze up. What kind of a jounin just freezes up when they're only faced with two enemies of a lower level then them? I never even wanted to become a jounin. I knew that mentally I could never take some of the stuff jounin's have to do. And I was lying on the ground getting my butt kicked, thinking about that when Obito and Rin showed up and saved me. And he never once teased me about it, about the fact that he'd had to save me." Kaya started to cry again and didn't say anything else for a while. When she did speak again it was quiet and she could barley talk she was trying so hard to choke back her tears.

"You don't know what's like Kakashi. I saw my brother dying; saw him squished beneath that boulder. I had to sit in that stupid goddamn hole and watch him bleed while there was nothing I could do to help him. I had to help take his eye out and put it in someone else's head. And then I had to leave him, had to watch his face disappear as the rocks caved in. I had to leave my brother to die alone in a goddamn hole! "

"And then I get home and less then a month later get a letter in the mail telling me that my parents have died in the same war that killed my brother. And the worst part is I can't ever forget about how Obito died, can't ever move on, as long as I live here, because every time I look you in the eyes I'm looking into Obito's eyes as well." And then Kaya began to sob again. Kakashi felt numb. He'd never thought of it that way before. He'd never realized that his eye, Obito's eye, would serve as a constant reminder to Kaya as to what had happened to her brother. He understood why she almost never looked him in the eyes anymore. She couldn't, of course it would be too painful.

"Kaya, let's get you home. You're letting your emotions get the better of you." He started to try to lead her back towards her house but she pulled away from him and took several quick steps back so that she was standing directly in front of the gate to Konoha. Tears were still streaming down her cheeks, but she'd stopped sobbing. She shook her head furiously.

"No! I'm not going home!" She told him. "I can't stay here anymore. I can't live in this town when every time I see you I see my brother. I can't stay in the town that sent my brother and my parents off to fight a war that killed them. I have to leave." She stepped out of the gate. Her hands began to make seals and Kakashi realized what she was doing. He began to run towards her. He had to stop her from leaving, he didn't know why, but he knew he had to. Obito wouldn't have wanted her to leave, and he had to protect her. He'd promised.

"Kaya, no!" He yelled.

"I'm sorry things turned out like this." Kaya said quietly and finished the final seal. Kakashi reached forward to grab her, to stop her from leaving. "Good-bye." Kakashi's hand closed over nothing but air. Kaya had disappeared and left him standing alone outside the gate.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Thanks to everyone who submitted reviews; you all rock! I don't know if I mentioned this earlier, but this story is kind of in three segments. The first is now done, Kaya's childhood. So now we move on to her as a teenager. But first, we need to find out what happened to Kakashi after Kaya left. Sorry it took so freaking long to update, my creativity and inspiration died on me. But they've sort of come back to life now, so I'm gonna try to finish this fic. Oh and I've decided I might cut out the part about Kaya as an adult, it is kind of hard to get around the whole Uchiha massacre thing. Let me know what you think about this in your reviews.**

**BTW – I still don't own Naruto, although Kaya is mine.**

**5 years later**

Kakashi was just finishing putting on his ANBU uniform. He'd been summoned to see the third Hokage in about half an hour, regarding his new mission. He vaguely wondered what it might be. Once he had finished dressing himself he walked over to his bedside table and glanced briefly at the picture that stood there.

It was a picture of his old team, Obito, Rin, Kaya and himself. Kaya and Obito were in the middle of the frame, Obito was giving his younger sister a piggyback ride and was grinning. Kaya's hands were in the air in a victorious way and it looked like she might have been shouting something, probably about how they'd kicked butt on their mission. Rin was walking beside them, laughing her head off. And then there was Kakashi, standing off to the side and a bit behind them, as if trying to distance himself from them and rolling his eyes. He could remember when the photo had been taken, about a week before Kakashi had become a jounin and they'd gone off to help in the war against the Rock Village five years ago.

He wondered what had happened to Kaya, after she'd disappeared. Was she still alive? He sighed sadly to himself, cursing himself for letting her get away, for letting her run. He picked up a dog-tag style necklace, engraved with his name that lay in front of the picture. It was the same necklace Kaya had given him when he'd become a jounin. He slipped it over his head and tucked it under his shirt. He didn't know why he still wore it. He guessed he considered it to be good-luck now. Or maybe it was because it reminded him of that day, when he swore to himself he'd stop being so selfish and that he'd stop concentrating so much solely on the rules. It kept him from going back to how he was. With a final glance at the picture he left his room. Slipping on his shoes he opened the front door of his house and left.

The cold air of the early morning hit him as he stepped outside and locked his door. He had been walking for about five minutes before he realized he was going the wrong way. He turned around and headed in the opposite direction. It had just become an automatic habit now, to go towards the monument first thing in the morning. He'd go after his meeting, this was important and he couldn't be late. He was always late, like Obito and Kaya always had been, like they'd been that day… No. He couldn't let himself dwell on the past. He pushed the memories from his mind.

A few minutes later Kakashi was standing in front of the Hokage. He was slightly surprised to find that there were no other ninjas present, ANBU or otherwise. Perhaps the mission was a solo one? Yeah, that made sense to him. Except that he'd only been on a few solo missions before, and he knew they'd been very serious ones. If this was a solo mission then it was going to probably be serious as well, and he wasn't much in the mood to do anything that was going to be of great importance to Konoha.

"Good morning Kakashi. You are aware, I'm sure, that you're here to receive a new mission." The Hokage spoke. Kakashi knew it was a statement and not a question, but he nodded anyway. "Well, you should know that the mission you are about to receive is one of great importance." Kakashi groaned inwardly. Great, just what he'd been hoping not to get. "You know that the Raikage is currently in Konoha?" Again Kakashi nodded. "He came escorted by two of his best jounin as these are times of peace and he assumed he needed no more then that. However, there have been a few reports of missing nin hanging out along the path the Raikage used to get here. Obviously it would be too dangerous for him to travel under these conditions and so I've agreed to send one of my best ANBU members with one of his jounin to go and scout ahead, to clear the path if you will, of these missing nin so that no harm comes to the Raikage."

"And I'm going to be that ANBU member?" Kakashi asked.

"No, I just thought I'd reveal this operation to you for no reason of all. Yes of course you're the ANBU member I'm going to send, I wouldn't tell you otherwise. Now you're to meet your partner from the village hidden in the clouds in one hour, right here in my office. I suggest you use the time to pack whatever things you may want to bring. This mission will probably take you at least a few days." The Hokage told him. Kakashi nodded and turned to leave before a thought occurred to him.

"Why only send two people?" He asked. The Hokage smiled.

"Because neither me nor the Raikage actually believe that there are missing nin hanging out along that path, but we feel it's better to be safe then sorry." He answered. And with that Kakashi nodded and left the office.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**Hello People. Just want to say that a friend of mine, .NoBoy.NoCry. helped me out a lot on this chapter and pretty much every single one before and after it. So just thought I should tell you now... On chapter 14... Shut up...**

**On with the fiction based fan story... by me... and .NoBoy.NoCry. ... Okay, so I've had a lot of sugar today!**

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An hour Kakashi found himself walking back into the Hokage's office with a small pack of essentials for the mission. As he opened the door he noticed another figure inside the room. The person was wearing a black cloak that covered them completely and had the hood pulled up so that Kakashi could not see their face (You know the over shading they use in anime so when someone's wearing a hat/hood you can't see their face? Yeah, like that). This made it impossible to distinguish the person's age or gender. The person nodded respectfully to him as he entered. Kakashi returned the gesture and then looked over at the Hokage as he spoke.

"Kakashi, this is the jounin you'll be working with, Yuki. She came with the Raikage. Yuki, this Hatake Kakashi, a member of our ANBU team." So, the person was a girl named Yuki. He glanced over at her. "I wish you both the best of luck on your mission." The Hokage told them with a nod and a smile. The two ninjas nodded in return and left the office, Yuki first and then Kakashi. Once outside Kakashi looked at Yuki awkwardly.

"Um, look… Can we just stop somewhere in the village before we go? There's, uh… someone I need to say goodbye to before we go." He said, gesturing in the direction he wanted to go. Yuki shrugged.

"Sure." She answered. Her voice was flat, unemotional. It made Kakashi feel more awkward then he already did. There were a few minutes of silence as they walked through the village. Kakashi cleared his throat awkwardly and made an attempt to break the silence.

"So… You have a last name?" He asked Yuki.

"No." She answered flatly.

"You must have a last name."

"No. Just call me Yuki." She said. Kakashi sighed quietly and didn't try to strike up another conversation after that. As they came to the area where the monument was Yuki glanced over at Kakashi. "Are there houses this way? When we were given a tour of the village, I don't remember there being anything but a monument this way."

"That's where I want to go. The monument. Like I said, I have to say goodbye to someone. I would have done it earlier, but I didn't have time." Kakashi answered. They were only a few feet from the monument now and he stopped. "Look, Yuki, could you just wait here? It's kind of a private thing…" The strange girl nodded and stayed where she was as Kakashi went and knelt in front of the monument. When he rose from the ground a minute or so later, Yuki took that to mean she could probably go over and have a look at the monument now. Walking over to him, she stood silently beside him for a moment and scanned the long list of names. On top of the monument there was a single, fresh white lily that looked as though it had been put there earlier that morning.

"Who died?" Yuki asked, looking at the lily. "Your girlfriend?" Kakashi shook his head.

"No, a friend of mine. He died five years ago, when we were on a mission. His sister was there too, she ran away about a month later. Couldn't stay in the village that had sent her brother to his death. Her name's not on here, but it should be, beneath her brothers. I guess people are still hoping she'll turn up again one day. But after five years, there's not much chance of that." He sighed sadly and for a moment they stood in front of the monument in silence.

"That white lily," Kakashi said when he noticed Yuki looking at it. "Has been there everyday for the last week or so. Well, not that exact one, but there've been ones just like it everyday. It's strange, there aren't usually fresh flowers every day, and never the same kind every day."

"You come here everyday then?" Yuki asked.

"I didn't say-" Kakashi started, but Yuki cut him off.

"Yes you did. You said there were never fresh flowers everyday before and that the lily has been there everyday for the last week. You wouldn't know that unless you came here everyday." She pointed out.

"Fine, I come here everyday, okay? Now let's go, we have a mission to do." And with that Kakashi turned to walk away. The mission hadn't even started yet and already he didn't like Yuki. There was something strange about her and it bothered him how emotionless her voice was. Not to mention the fact that she never pulled her hood down.

Glancing behind him after he'd taken a few steps away from the monument he noticed that Yuki hadn't moved. She was standing perfectly still in front of the monument, hands curled into fists.

"Coming?" Kakashi asked. There was no answer. After a short pause he tried again. "Yuki?"


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Slowly Kakashi walked back over to Yuki. The girl didn't move at all until he was right behind her, and then she spoke, quietly, her voice shaking with barely controlled anger.

"Why do you keep pretending to care? Why, after 5 years do you keep coming here like he was your best friend or something? Just because he trusted you in the end? Half his brain was crushed; he probably had no idea what he was even saying! Why do you keep pretending to care!" On the last sentence she turned to face Kakashi, but she kept her head down so that he couldn't see her face.

"Who the hell are you?" Kakashi asked, and reached forward suddenly, yanking her hood down. As he did Yuki raised her hand to hit him, but Kakashi grabbed her wrist before she could. As he looked her in the eyes his own widen in surprise. Her face didn't tell much about her identity, only that she was probably around 16 or 17. Her Jet black hair fell just below her shoulders and was straight, framing her slightly pale face. But it was her bright grey eyes that really gave away who she was to Kakashi. He would have recognized Kaya's eyes anywhere. "… Kaya?" He asked, not quite believing it was her.

Kaya's hood still in one hand and her wrist in the other, Kakashi pulled her into a hug. She struggled against him, but he wouldn't let go. After a moment she gave up and let him hug her. She put her head on his shoulder and began to cry quietly.

"I'm glad you're alive." Kakashi whispered in her ear. After a minute or two, when he was sure she'd stopped crying, he held her at arms length. "Where've you been Kaya? Five years go by and you never even write to tell us you're alive?" Kaya just stared at the ground, tears still welling up in her eyes, but she was able to control herself enough to keep them from falling. "Kaya, look at me for a second."

"I can't." She answered.

"Why not?"

"Obito's eye…" She replied quietly, letting only a single tear fall down her cheek, which she hastily wiped away. Kakashi's expression softened slightly. He reached up and pulled down one side of his forehead protector, covering his single sharringan eye.

"That better?" He asked Kaya. She slowly raised her eyes to look at him. A slight smile tugged at the corner's of her lips, but it was gone in a second. She nodded.

_I still hate him for everything._ She thought to herself, _but I may as well try not to be too obvious about it if I'm going to have to work with him for the next couple of days._

"We should go see Rin." Kakashi said suddenly. "She's going to be so happy you're alive. And the Uchiha's too. Your Aunts and Uncles will want to see you. And-" Kaya cut him off coldly.

"No. We have a mission to do. We'll do the mission and then I'll go back to my village, to my new home and my new friends. The less people that know I'm back the better. I'm not staying." She told him. Kakashi sighed. He knew there was no point in arguing with her now, but he'd work on her during the mission. He didn't know just how much she still hated him.

**I know the manga/anime already gave a reason for why Kakashi wears his foreead protector over his eye. I just wanted to kind of up the cuteness factor. Hope no one was offended. Also, sorry this chapter's so short, and actually, sorry all the chapters in this fic have been short. I'm just lazy, shorter chapters are easier to write.**


	16. And now a word from the author

Okay, so as you've probably noticed I haven't updated in forever. Basically, I lost the will to write this story a while ago because I wanted to do something with it that I had made impossible earlier one and yeah... there would have been a million plot holes and crap. Not to mention the fact I'm fed up being lectured about Mary-Sues. I know what a goddamn Mary-Sue is and I realise my character is one. And I think people who have a problem with that should just get lost unless they actually have something constructive to say. If you don't like my character use your freaking back button.

Ahem Anyway, now I've gotten that out of my system I'm going to get to the point. I'm writting a different fic at the moment, but when I finish it I might rewrite this one. So if you actually are still interested in it then send me a message or something and I'll let you know when I get around to that. If I know someone out there's interested then I'm more likely to rewrite it and fix it. Yeah... that's all. Thanks to everyone who left nice comments

- LaLuna.LaLune


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